Clutch-controlling mechanism.



- No. 806,916. I PATENTED DEC. l2, 1905.

s C. A. RICH.

CLUTCH CONTROLLING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED FBB.5. 190.4.

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PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905. C. A. RICH.

CLUTCH CONTROLLING MEGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED rms. 5, 1904.

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. back shaft.

'UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE. i

1 CHARLES A. RICH, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO BROWN AND SHARPE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF PROVI- DENCE, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF RHODE ISLAND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905.

Application led February 5, 1904. Serial No. 192,153.

To fir/ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known' that I, CHARLES A. RICH, of the city and county of Providence, State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clutch-Controlling Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same, to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

The invention relates to devices for control'- ling and timing the operation of the clutch or other device which is to be thrown into and out of operation at intervals. I

The features of invention may be embodied and used with advantage in various mechanisms and machines in which it is desirable to control a rapidly-operating clutch or part from a slow-moving device.

The various features of the invention will be more fully explained in connection with the detailed description of the mechanisms in which I have embodied them and will be set forth in the claims. These mechanisms are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a rear elevation showing the spindle end of so much of a screw-machine as is necessary to show the application of the present improvements thereto. Fig. 2 is a sectional detail of` the clutches and cams carried by the back shaft. Figs. 3 to 6 are details of the clutches and cams carried by the Fig. 7 is a detail showing a part of the devices for changing the speed of the spindle. Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional View taken through the a'xis of the back shaft in Fig. l. Fig. 9 is a vertical transverse sectional view, parts being broken away. Figs. 10 and ll are detailsof the'tripping devices fr controlling the clutches carried by the back s iaft.

In the drawings the features of the invention are shown embodied in a screw-machine having the same general construction as the screw-machine shown in the patent to W. S.

Davenport, numbered 604,306 and dated May 17, 1898. In this machine the stock being operated upon is carried by a spindle A, upon which is mounted two pulleys A A2, either of which may be connected with the spindle by means of a clutch A3, mounted between the pulleys and connected with` a clutch-shifting lever A1. The pulleys A A2 are driven in opposite directions by crossed and open belts B B2, which pass over said pulleys and over a pulley or pulleys secured to an overhead counter-shaft. The machine is provided with 'shaft H, mounted upon the rear of the headstock and connected, by means of a crank H and rod H2, with mechanism (not shown) for changing the speed of the counter-shaft which carries the pulleys for the belts B B2. The rod H2 is connected with the crank H by pins L', engaging a collar loose on the crank, so that the rod may accommodate itself to the movements of the crank and the connected mechanism. The changes in speed are effected by giving the shaft H a half-revolution at proper intervals, the spindle being driven at one or the other of two speeds, according to the position of the shaft and crank. The shaft H is given a halfrevolution at the desired intervals by means of a clutch H5, which carriesa pinion H6, meshing with a gear H7, secured to the shaft H, the pinion being one-half the diameter of the gear, so that a complete revolution of the clutch H5 turns the shaft H through a half-revolution. The clutch H5 is arranged to engage and be driven by a constantly-rotating clutch member G1", secured to the back shaft G. The clutch H5 is normally held outof engagement with the clutch mem ber G6 by an abutment H2, which engages a cam-shoulder H1 on the clutch and holds said clutch against the pressure of a spring H1, which tends to force it into engagement with the clutch member G11. When the abut- Vment H8 is disengaged from the cam-shoulder H2, the spring H10 forces the clutch into enthe clutch is operated by said clutch member. As the clutch completes a single revolution the incline H11of the cam-shoulder H9 engages the abutment H8, which has meanwhile returned into position to be engaged by said cam, and forces the clutch out of engagement with the clutch member G11, thus stopping the rotation of the clutch after it has made a complete revolution. The clutch is held in normal position by a V-shaped pin H12, carried on a spring-pressed lever H120 and arranged to engage a similar-shaped notch H13 in the clutch. p.

The abutment H2 is in the form of a pin mounted in the rear end ofl a lever H11, piv- TOO oted on a rod H15, Fig. 8. The leverH11 is rocked at the desired intervals to throw the clutch H into operation by means of tripping-dogs H15, arranged to engage a trip-fin- 5 ger H15, mounted on the front end of the le- Ver H11. The tripping-dogs H15 are adjustably mounted on a disk I, secured to the front shaft I, corresponding to the front shaft in the machine of the patent referred to. As

IO many dogs H15 may be mounted on the disk I the production of a single piece of work, and.

this shaft, therefore, is rotated at a comparatively slow rate of speed. The back shaft G, on the other hand, is driven at a high rate of speed, and consequently the time consumed in rotating the clutch H5 through a single revolution is very small. In order, however, for

i the clutch to be thrown out of engagement with the clutch member G5 at the end of a single revolution, the pin H8 must be free to return into the path of` the cam H11 before the clutch has completed its revolution. The pin H5 cannot return, however, until the dog H15,

which operated against the trip H15, has passed from under the trip, so that the lever H11 can return to its normal position. In some instances-as, for example, in making articles which involve a comparatively long period of time for their production-it may be desirable to rotate the shaft I at so slow a speed that the travel of the dogs cannot alone be relied upon to free the dog and trip in proper time to throw out the clutch H5 at the end of a single revolution. To avoid this difficulty and to enable the abutment H5 to quickly return to its normal position after being tripped, I have provided means for freeing the dog and trip independently of the travel of the dog after it has tripped the abutment. In practicing this feature of my invention I so mount the trip H15 upon the lever H11 that it is moved out of normal position against the tension of a spring by the engagement of a dog therewith and is quickly returned into normal position on the lever as soon as it disengages the dog, thus bringing it into position behind the dog, where it will not interfere with the return of the lever H11 to its normal position. In order to increase the rapidity with which the trip is freed from the dog, I provide a cam on the clutch, which engages the rear end of the trip-lever as soon as the clutch starts to rotate and lifts the trip away from the dog, so that it may immediately move into a position behind the dog where it will not interfere with the return of the trip-lever to` normal position. By this construction the proper operation and timing of the clutch H5 is insured without regard to the speed at which the tri pping-dogs are traveling. As shown, the dog H15 is pivoted upon the lever H11 and is held normally against a shoulder H17 by a spring-pressed plunger H15. When the dog H15 strikes the trip-finger H15, the finger H15 is first swung away from the shoulder H17 against the action of the plunger H15, and then continued movement of the dog forces the trip and frontend of the lever H11 upward, thus moving the pin H5 out of engagement with the cam-shoulder H5. As soon as the clutch H15 starts its rotation a cam H15, carried by the clutch, engages the rear end of the lever H11, forcing this end of the lever downward, and thus raising the trip-finger H15 out of engagement with the dog H15. The finger H15 then immediately returns to position against the shoulder H11, which movement brings it back of the dog H15, so that the lever H11 is free to return to normal position under the influence of its operatingspring H55.

I have also employed the feature of invention just described in controlling the clutch, the rotation of which operates the clutch-shifting lever A1, already referred to. This lever A1 is operated by a cam A5, which is given a half-revolution to shift the clutch A3 from one spindle-driving pulley to the other. The cam A5 is connected with a clutch A5, arranged to engage and be driven by clutch-teeth on the clutch member G5, Figs. l and 2. The clutch A5 is keyed to slide on a sleeve A1, to which the cam A5 is pinned, and is forced toward the clutch member G5 by a spring A5. The clutch is held out of engagement with the clutch member G5 against the tension of the spring A5vby an abutment A5, arranged to engage one or the other of two cam-shoulders A15, formed on the clutch. There are two of these cam-shoulders A15 on the clutch, and they are arranged diametrically opposite each other, so that the clutch is disengaged after the completion of a half-revolution instead of after the completion of a complete revolution, as in the case of the clutch H5. The clutch is thrown out of engagement with the clutch member G5 by the action of the inclined portions A11 of the cam-surfaces A15 in the manner described with relation to the operation of the clutch H5. The clutch and cam are held in their normal position by a V-shaped pin A15, carried by a spring-pressed lever A155 and arranged to engage similar-shaped notches A15, formed in the cam A5. 'Ihe abutment A5 is in the form of a pin carried or the rear end of a lever A11, pivoted on the bar H15 and provided at its front end with a spring trip-finger A15, similar in construction and operation to the trip-finger H15, already described. This trip-finger A15- is operated upon by dogs similar to dogs H15, which are adjustably mounted nlthe side of the disk I opposite to the dogs IOO IIO

The clutch AG is provided With two cams A19 for engaging the rear end of the lever A when the clutch starts to revolve, and thus disengage the trip A1 from its operatingdog. This feature of freeing the dog and -trip independently of the travel of the dog is of especial importance in connection with the clutch A6, which is to be thrown out of operation at each half-revolution and enables this clutch to be accurately timed and controlled by means ot' a single abutment and a single set of tripping devices.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- V 1. The combination with a clutch, of acamshoulder thereon, an abutment engaging said shoulder, a trip for operating said abutment, a traveling dog for operating said trip, and means for freeing the dog and trip independently ot' the travel of the dog, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a traveling trip-dog, a trip operated by the dog, and means for freeing the dog and trip independently of the travel of the dog, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a traveling trip-dog, a trip having a limited movement with the dog, Yand means for restoring the trip to normal position when disengaged from the dog, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a clutch of a camshoulder thereon, an abutment engaging said ing trip-dog for operating said trip, and means operated by the clutch for freeing the trip and dog, substantiallyas described.

6. The combination with a clutch. provided with a cam, a trip-lever provided With an abutment normally engaging said cam, a springtrip on the lever, a traveling trip-dog for engaging said trip, and a cam connected with the clutch for moving said lever to disengage the trip and dog, substantially as described.

7. The combination with aclutch, of a triplever for controlling the operation of the clutch, a spring-trip on the lever, and a traveling dog engaging said trip to trip the lever, substantially as described.

8. The combination with a clutch, of a triplever for controlling the operation of the clutch, a spring-trip on the lever, a traveling dog engaging said trip to trip the lever, and a cam operated by the rotation of the clutch for operating the trip-lever to disengage the trip and dog, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a clutch, a plurality of cams thereon, an abutment for engaging'said cams and holding the clutch out of action, a traveling dog, a trip in the path of the dog connected with the abutment and having a limited movement with the dog, substantially as described.

10. The combination With a clutch, a plurality of cams thereon, an abutment for engaging said cams and holding the clutch out of action, a traveling dog, a trip in the path of the dog connected with the abutment and having a limited movementwith the dog, and a cam operated by the rotation of the clutch for disengaging the trip and dog, substantially as described.

j CHARLES A. Rien.

Witnesses:

` W. H. THURsToN,

J. H. THURsToN. 

